FULLERTON – The Galaxy remained unbeaten after passing their first real preseason test in a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica’s Puntarenas FC in an international friendly on Wednesday at Cal State Fullerton.

The Galaxy hadn’t lost in four previous matches – all of them scrimmages – and head coach Bruce Arena said he was happy to see how his club responded against what he called a quality opponent.

The Galaxy pretty much dominated the match, but Puntarenas did show some signs of life in the second half after an opening 45 minutes in which they didn’t record a shot on goal.

Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts came well out of the net in the 83rd minute of what was then a scoreless tie to deny Puntarenas’ Jose Macotelo on his team’s first real scoring opportunity on a breakaway after getting behind the Los Angeles back line.

Los Angeles finally took the lead five minutes later after a nice combination between rookie Michael Stephens and second-year veteran Chris Birchall resulted in Birchall scoring from just outside the penalty area into the upper corner of the net.

“It was one of those where I felt like I had to hit the ball or else I would get tackled by the defender,” Birchall said of the play. “It was pretty much instinct for me, and I’m just glad it went in.”

The Galaxy appeared to be unlucky not to have scored to that point, but Arena attributed his team’s lack of good fortune to the quality of the opponent.

“They defended quite well,” Arena said. “They were very smart and almost caught us for a goal in the second half. We had some chances, but obviously at this time of year your timing is not what it should be. We had a couple of chances we couldn’t put away, but give them credit.